Business leaders face the uphill task of resolving conflict within work environments so that business operations can run smoothly. The responsibility falls on directors, managers, and executives to settle disputes between staff members amicably and fairly. Doing so, however, is easier said than done. A whopping 60% of business leaders and employees have never received training on conflict resolution in the workplace.
Healthy co-worker relationships are the backbone of a thriving business since workers are an organization’s most important asset. Employees work together efficiently to accomplish tasks when they are on good terms but fail to do even the simplest jobs when there is friction between them. Disputes in the work area are also not a good show for the company as a whole.
For these reasons, it becomes all the more important to find ways to resolve conflict in the workplace. A proper approach to workplace conflict resolution is etched in simplicity and fairness. In this article, you’ll find some great tips on how to solve employment disputes to improve worker relationships.
How to Solve Conflicts in the Workplace
- Stay Centered: No matter how bad the situation is, remember always to remain centered. Maintaining your cool is a vital aspect of workplace mediation and a great trait for relational leadership for two main reasons. First, it puts you in a better position to listen relationally and understand the whole situation without triangling or aligning with either side. Second, it shows that you’re taking a balanced approach to the situation.
- Listen and Be Engaged: The next step is to listen and understand to get the whole gist of things. Workplace mediation is useless without crucial listening skills. Effective listening will allow you to analyze the situation comprehensively, establish the root cause of the issue, and ask open questions to help both parties get clearer and closer to a possible resolution.
- Focus on the Problem and not the Employees: Workplace conflict can be a real headache. However, it is important to direct your attention not on the employees, but on the root of the problem itself. No matter how much of an inconvenience employee disputes can be, it is important to tackle the issue at hand instead of castigating the employees.
- Avoid Bias: Bias ruins the whole idea of workplace mediation as it favors one party over the other in a process anchored on fairness. Not only does this further brew animosity, but it also portrays a serious character flaw within you. Showing biases toward either party in a dispute is not indicative of relational leadership.
- Ask the Right Question: Most workplace disputes culminate in a never-ending blame game where employees are always pointing fingers. The right leading question will help you establish the point of contention step by step. Avoid short and direct questions that are somewhat interrogative as they’ll often solicit defensive answers from the respondent. Instead, ask open questions that aim at finding the main cause of the problem and follow them up with questions that don’t necessarily attack anyone.
All in all, how well your workplace mediation efforts work will depend on how often you employ these tips and your overall relational leadership skills. It doesn’t hurt to pat yourself on the back if you successfully resolve a workplace conflict.
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